Family Solidarity Research Articles

Testing the Importance of Family Solidarity, Community Structure, Information Access, and Social Capital in Predicting Nutrition Health Knowledge and Food Choices in the Philippines

This study investigates the influence of family solidarity, community structure, information access, social capital, and socioeconomic status on the extent of nutrition and health knowledge (NHK) among primary household meal planners. In turn, we pose the question: does this knowledge influence dietary decision making? Data are taken from a survey determining socioeconomic impacts of vitamin A fortified peanut butter on Philippine households. Questions on the relationships of nutrition to health were selected to construct a knowledge index on which household respondents could be ranked. We then tested hypotheses regarding what types of individual, family-level, and community structural characteristics would predict performance on this index. The results indicate that the strongest predictors of NHK come from sociological theory related to family solidarity and community centrality, in addition to information accessibility and household income. Our findings also indicate that NHK influences dietary choices with regard to the purchase of a vitamin fortified staple food product, which is essential when addressing nutritional deficiency problems in developing countries.

Sociological Ambivalence Revisited

The concept of ambivalence has received limited attention from contemporary sociologists, notably because of its association with psychoanalysis and psychology and their emphasis on individual experience in isolation from the broader social and cultural contexts to which people belong. This article revisits the concept by placing it within a framework of relational sociology with the purpose of strengthening its conceptual foundations as a sociological construct. We illustrate the foundations of this framework through analysis of narratives collected as part of the project ‘Old age and autonomy: The role of service systems and intergenerational family solidarity’, involving interviews with adult children and their ageing parents engaged in informal caring relationships. Viewed through a relational lens, ambivalence can be reconceptualized as having both temporal and transformative properties and as the product of complex relational experiences existing within a wider web of interdependent social relationships.

Family Solidarity and Place as Components of Hospital Provision in Istanbul: The Dependence of Public Healthcare on Culture and the Local Economy

In Istanbul, public university hospitals exemplify the importance of urban social networks in the structuring of economic activity. The involvement of patients' families in care-giving on hospital premises is essential to the efficient functioning of the health service. This paper illustrates the vital role of cultural and social factors, especially kinship relations and informal networks, in shaping the urban built environment at the local level. The paper shows how family solidarity is a precondition for the successful functioning of a major city hospital in Istanbul, and how this affects the economic character of the built environment around the hospital. The paper employs a relational approach to highlight to key processes at work.

So many orphans … How could one give them all a helping hand? Family solidarity in a context of high mortality in the first half of the nineteenth century. A case-study: The Dombes province (France)

In the Dombes province, in the course of the first decades of the 19th century, with a high mortality among adults, many unions had a premature ending and only a minority of children grew up with both of their biological parents. The Civil Code, established in 1804, tried to organize family solidarity towards orphans. To that end, each time an adult died, leaving one under age child or more, six close relatives had to be gathered, forming a family council, which appointed a guardian and a surrogate-guardian, in charge of the orphan's material and moral interests. An analysis of the proceedings of such boards of guardians between 1810 and 1824 points to the essential part played by uncles and the near absence of grandparents. In spite of a few conflicts which can be noticed in these administrative documents, the families – there being orphans in practically each one of them – managed to take charge of under age children, none of whom was left to fend for himself or placed in an orphanage.

Relationships between parents and their adult children: a West European typology of late-life families

ABSTRACTFollowing Reher's (1998) seminal paper on family ties in western Europe, the perspective that family solidarity patterns are divided between an individualistic north and a famialistic south has dominated the literature. We challenge this view and address the variability in intergenerational family solidarity within and across countries. Using multiple dimensions of intergenerational solidarity drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we develop a typology of late-life families which is robust across northern, central and southern regions. The four types are: (a) descending familialism: living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from parents to children, (b) ascending familialism: living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from children to parents, (c) supportive-at-distance: not living nearby, frequent contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and primarily financial transfers from parents to adult children, (d) autonomous: not living nearby, little contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and few support exchanges. The four types are common in each European country, though the distributions differ. The findings suggest that scholars should abandon the idea that a particular country can be characterised by a single dominant type of late-life family. Socio-demographic differentials in family type follow predictable patterns, underscoring the validity of the developed typology.

The Distinctive Features of Belarusian Traditional Funeral Repasts

In Belarusian traditional culture, the funeral repast was an important part of the structure of funeral rites. Its meaning had as much to do with ethics as with sustenance and it was a required or normative part of funerary behaviour in the Belarusian social milieu. The memorial repast fulfilled many functions in Belarusian traditional culture. It served to commemorate ancestors and to link the living with their past. The meal performed a sacred or religious function, expressing faith in the afterlife. It performed an educational function and helped create family solidarity and promote willingness to learn about the family’s genealogy (radavod).The article, based on folkloric and ethnographic materials from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and on the results of field work conducted by the author, discusses two types of funeral repasts. One type is conducted on the day of internment and the other type includes the meals that correspond to the folk calendar and commemorate the dead. The article examines the distinctive features of funeral repasts in traditional Belarusian culture and explicates the function and meaning of specific funeral meals.

Love as a Hidden Gender Resource in Chinese Immigrant Women’s Entrepreneurship

Although there has been an increased research interest in recognizing entrepreneurship as an individual strategy, most literature disregards the interplays of human agency and social structure to entrepreneurship. Despite some recognition of emotion in making economic decisions among entrepreneurial discourses on human agency, aspects of emotional capital in explaining motivation to entrepreneurship has been overlooked. The application of the notion of love as an individual strategy for entering business is still unprecedented. To fill these gaps, we aim to bring “love” as a form of emotional capital to the centre of analysis by relating a number of “love stories” that illustrate the motivation for entrepreneurship in a group of 125 Chinese immigrant women in Sydney, Australia, and Richmond, Canada. Using these women’s own accounts of their experiences, this paper attempts to demonstrate that emotion is embedded in economic behaviour when love is used as a resource to enter entrepreneurship. In addition, we intend to explore the dynamics of motivation by intersecting love with the women’s biographical factors, connecting gender, race, ethnicity, class, immigration, and opportunity structures.BR How do Chinese immigrant women in our studies mobilize love as a form of emotional capital to enter entrepreneurship? First, we recognize that the love relation is the underpinning of family relations, which are based on normative giving. Second, we recognize that these women have taken patriarchy as natural, seeing the maintenance of family relationships and solidarity as wives and mothers overriding their own self-interests, to the extent of self-sacrifice for the good of the family. Failing to do so would result in self-blame, guilt, and shame. We therefore postulate that women are motivated by love as a gender resource that is grounded in culture to enter entrepreneurship for the purposes of marriage and family maintenance and economic survival. Further, we suggest that the mobilization of this form of emotional capital is a rational choice, given the adverse situations these immigrant women and their families face as they struggle against structural barriers and scarce opportunities resulting from immigration.BR Love as a gender resource for entering business can be manifested in different ways. Some women were driven into entrepreneurship out of “self-sacrifice” in terms of “giving” for the love of their husbands. Some did so to “give face” or “save face” for their husbands while others did so through contributing their “labour of love.” Others sacrificed their entrepreneurial ambition to “give time” to care for their husband and children. To these women, the business project is a project of love.BR The motivation for entry into entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon as seen from the experience of this group of immigrant women. By allowing the delineation of the intersections of self, marriage and family, class, race/ethnicity, immigration and settlement process, labour market experience, and opportunity structures, this study opens up new space for future research to help fill the gaps and expand the horizon in our knowledge claims on entrepreneurship.

Bloedwraak en vete in de late middeleeuwen

Modern descriptions of the medieval culture of violence usually lump together two distinct forms of private retaliation: taking blood revenge after a homicide and declaring war (or ‘a feud’) on one’s enemies because of grave injustice done. Without any doubt, this is partly due to the vague or ambiguous terminology in many medieval sources. Even so, in a legal context blood vengeance and feuding were meticulously kept apart, and treated differently. By observing this legal distinction we can get a better view of the attempts made by late medieval states, in different periods and along diverse tracks, to extend their monopoly of violence at the cost of more or less institutionalised forms of private violence. Around 1500, this process of containment was not anywhere near completion, but thanks to the gradual criminalisation of vengeance killings, feuding and other types of private warfare, a process that was supported by fundamental changes of mentality vis à vis family solidarity and the uncontrolled use of physical force, the end of a world in which people frequently ‘took the law into their own hands’, had come in sight.

Beyond Material Explanations: Family Solidarity and Mortality, a Small Area‐level Analysis

Social solidarity, being embedded in a network of binding social relationships, tends to extend human longevity. Yet while average incomes in the Western world, and with them, life expectancies, have risen dramatically, the second demographic transition has occasioned a breakdown in traditional family forms. This article considers whether these trends in family life may have slowed the rise in life expectancy. I present a cross‐sectional analysis of Israeli statistical areas (SAs), for which I construct indexes of Standard of Living (SOL), Traditional Family Structure (TFS), and Religiosity (R). I show that (1) increases in all three of these indexes are associated with lower levels of mortality, (2) male mortality is more sensitive to differences in SOL and TFS than is female mortality, and (3) net of differences in SOL and TFS, there is no difference in the mortality levels of Arab and Jewish populations.

Sortie d'un placement à long terme et modes d'accès à l'indépendance

Résumé Cet article explore les principales étapes conduisant à l’indépendance de 123 jeunes placés avec leur fratrie en villages d’enfants et sortis entre 1972-2001. Les jeunes générations d’« anciens placés » ont bénéficié de plus d’aides institutionnelles mais ont été confrontées à une entrée plus difficile sur le marché du travail. Au total, ce placement stable (moy = 9 ans) a permis à 60% des jeunes d’obtenir un diplôme et à 65% d’acquérir leur indépendance financière et résidentielle à l’âge de 24-25 ans sans difficultés majeures. La solidarité fraternelle et le support des mères SOS ont facilité cette période de transition. L’accès à cette indépendance est très lié à l’obtention de diplômes quel qu’en soit le niveau et à l’absence de graves problèmes psychiques ou comportementaux à la sortie du placement. Pour ces jeunes, comme pour tous ceux de la Protection de l’enfance, la prolongation des accompagnements plusieurs années après leur sortie s’avère non seulement indispensable mais doit être développée pour favoriser au mieux l’entrée dans la vie adulte.

The family inheritance process: motivations and patterns of interaction.

Material inheritance constitutes a challenge for families in later life. Yet inheritance decisions, the underlying reasons and motivations and patterns of family interaction have barely been studied. Research suggests that motivations fluctuate on a continuum between unconditional donation (altruism, normative obligation) and conditional donation (strategic exchange, reciprocity). However, the literature emphasises the need for further research into the motivations that constitute this continuum and on the patterns of family interaction attached to them. This exploratory study therefore sets out to examine the motivations and patterns of family interaction in the process of transmitting material inheritances. Using the critical incidents technique (CIT) 55 usable incidents were collected from 43 participants (7 donors, 16 heirs and 20 professionals). Results of this study suggest four motivations: (i) altruism driven by family solidarity; (ii) equity centred on the equal division of possessions in order to maintain family unity; (iii) strategy focused on reciprocity (I give you if you give me); (iv) egoism based on self-interest. Findings contribute to a better knowledge of the factors that promote and prevent family problems over inheritance.

Compelled Subjugation and Forced Silence: Sexually Abused Girls and their Family Members: A Case Study of Western Madhya Pradesh (India)

ABSTRACT Despite taking action against the sexual abusers the family members of many of the sexually abused girls force the victims to keep the behaviour of abusers a secret. They ask their girls to forget the events and forgive the offenders for the sake of family honour and family solidarity. Even, the family members compel their girls to subjugate the need of emotional counselling and of any other medical help, if they suffer from mental disorder after the abuse. A girl finds it difficult to forgive the abuser or forget the traumatic events of her life and the paradoxical behaviour of her family members becomes a new source of trauma for her. This article explores the responses to and the handlings of the cases of sexual abuse of girls by their family members. An attempt has also been made to analyse the impact of the unusual behaviour of the parents on the emotional well being of the victims and the coping strategies on which they depend for coming out from this situation.

Cultural Values and Caregiving: The Updated Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model

This review revises the sociocultural stress and coping model for culturally diverse family caregivers proposed in 1997 by Aranda and Knight. Available research on the influence of cultural values on the stress and coping process among family caregivers supports a common core model that is consistent across ethnic groups and that links care recipients' behavior problems and functional impairments to caregivers' burden appraisals and health outcomes. Familism as a cultural value appears to be multidimensional in its effects, with obligation values often being more influential than family solidarity. The effects of cultural values and other ethnic differences in stress and coping appear to involve social support and coping styles rather than burden appraisals. Implications of the revised model for research and practice are discussed.

How Has Internal Migration in Albania Affected the Receipt of Transfers from Kinship Members?

Kinship networks play an important role providing economic, social and emotional support in everyday life. Internal migration may put these networks at risk. Effects of migration on private transfers are primarily studied looking at the migrant and the family left behind. In this paper we investigate how the relocation of entire households affects the receipt of inter-household transfers from kinship members. Will the composition of received transfers change? Or, will the sending relatives be different? We use data from a unique survey in Tirana (Albania), to investigate financial, good, and service transfers received by migrant households. By looking at frequency of transfers before and after migration, we check whether the structure of transfers changes and whether friends have superseded family as important sending partners. Our empirical analysis shows that migration has significantly changed the type of transfers received while it has also affected the transfer network. We find that households receive fewer transfers than before migration, but that financial transfers increase. Friends become increasingly more important after migration, substituting for transfers from siblings and other relatives. Keywords: internal migration, kinship, Albania, family solidarity, inter-household transfers JEL classifications: D10, J10, J61, R20, R23

Intergenerational Transfers from a Life Course Perspective; A Longitudinal Comparison of Gifts and Bequests (Schenkungen Und Erbschaften Im Lebenslauf; Vergleichende Längsschnittanalysen Zu Intergenerationalen Transfers - in German)

The research on private financial transfers between generations lacks a longitudinal perspective. Gifts as intergenerational transfers inter vivos allow us to study the importance of life course events for the chances of receiving transfers. In Germany, gifts are highly private and leave more scope for decision-making than the regulated bequests. Thus, gifts are better suited to test theories on family solidarity and transfer behavior. Our analysis focuses on larger transmissions, which parents and grandparents give to their descendents. Bequests provide a comparative reference to highlight similarities and differences between transfers inter vivos and mortis causa. In our account, gift-giving is purposive action driven primarily by economic needs of the receivers, but also by non-material aspects of family ties. Bequeathing is characterized as behavior which is not necessarily purposive and highly restricted by normative and legal obligations. Hypotheses for both types of transfers are tested with retrospective data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). We use event history models to study the effects of changes in the life course on the chances of receiving transfers. Increased chances to receive a large gift occur in the first years after marriage and also immediately after divorce. Women are clearly disadvantaged as their chances to receive a gift and the transfer amounts are considerably lower. In low status families, large transfers inter vivos are a rare event. If they occur, these gifts often replace bequests. In high status families, gifts are transferred more frequently, and often as a complement to subsequent bequests.

Time-for-Money Exchanges Between Older and Younger Generations in Swedish Families

Despite the maturation of welfare states, family solidarity continues to be strong and a growing body of research has shown that substantial financial transfers are passed from older to younger generations within the family. At the same time, family solidarity in terms of instrumental and social support is found to be mutual. This study examines eventual reciprocity in time-for-money exchanges, by combining two large-scale Swedish representative longitudinal studies. It analyzes how earlier social contacts (time) are related to financial transfers (money) and to what extent social class and gender differentials are visible. The findings indicate that parents provide economic transfers if they have more frequent social contact with any of their children, and that these time investments pay off for children who were of higher social class origins. In contrast, no support for gender-specific patterns is found. In conclusion, family solidarity seems to have different bases in different social strata.

Role of foster family belonging in recovery from child maltreatment

Research on foster care suggests that children who have experienced abuse are susceptible to a range of negative life outcomes. Such research also suggests that children removed into foster care can recover from abuse if given opportunities to develop healing relationships with caregivers. Drawing on qualitative data from a national research project on Australian foster carers, this paper explores how foster families enact forms of belonging that potentially work to ameliorate experiences of abuse among foster children. With a specific focus on experiences of family solidarity, rituals, identity, and culture among foster carers and the children in their care, the findings highlight the role that foster carers can play in contributing to national child protection agendas aimed at addressing experiences of maltreatment among children removed into care in Australia.

Who supports delayed retirement? A study of older workers in Israel.

Delayed retirement is a policy measure aimed at ensuring financial stability in many countries, but this particular pension reform mechanism still lacks public support. Using data from the Israeli sample of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) in Europe, this article examines factors which predict support for delayed retirement among older Israeli workers (n=556). Hierarchical regression analysis of agreement with recently instituted delayed retirement measures showed that the perceived societal consequences of the reform were the strongest predictors. Older and more educated respondents and those more confident in their present workplace were also more likely to support delayed retirement. Those who favour state responsibility for care of older people tended to support delayed retirement less. The findings suggest that information campaigns on the contribution of continued employment to health and family solidarity might diminish current fears regarding the delayed retirement-based pension reforms. They also imply that non-partisan leadership is needed in order to recruit broader public support for such reform.

Building on Strengths: Intergenerational Practice with African American Families

Intergenerational kinship and multigenerational families (three or more generations) have been a source of strength for African Americans. This article presents a culturally responsive intergenerational practice model for working with African American families that draws on this legacy. The model looks at intergenerational kinship and multigenerational families through an Afrocentric, intergenerational solidarity framework. It provides a means to understand and support the strengths and resource richness of intergenerational relationships; the Afrocentric paradigm's affirmation of family and cultural strengths; and the power of intergenerational kinship, family solidarity, and support across generations.Building on the six solidarity elements of the intergenerational solidarity framework, this model provides an empowerment-oriented approach for social work practice with African American families that takes into consideration cultural values and practices.

Familismo y cambio social: el caso de España

El familismo de la sociedades está frecuentemente ligado a las limitaciones que presentan los Estados de Bienestar al hacer recaer sobre ellas un protagonismo excesivo. Referido a la sociedad española, los cambios sociales han sido importantes y rápidos, hasta el extremo que en algunos casos pueden transmitir la imagen de crisis familiar, pero sin embargo, la familia goza de una gran salud y sigue siendo de manera constante la institución más valorada por los españoles. No obstante, también quedan muchos ámbitos del cambio que están afectando a la solidaridad familiar y que presentan nuevos retos a la familia.